Fox News host Jessica Tarlov didn't hold back in her critique of former President Donald Trump's behavior following his victory over former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire GOP primary for President. Tarlov specifically took issue with Trump's remarks, citing his "uncontrollable narcissism and rage."
During a post-primary speech, Trump referred to Haley as an "impostor" and made comments about her dress:
“I find in life, you can’t let people get away with bulls**t. And when I watched her in the fancy dress that probably wasn’t so fancy come up, I said, ‘What’s she doing? We won.’"
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
While Haley pledged to continue her presidential bid, Tarlov, appearing on Fox News’ The Five, discussed the potential consequences of Trump's comments and whether he should be reaching out to Haley voters, stressing the importance of "minute" result differences in swing states during the general election and hinted that Trump might want to avoid making sexist comments.
You can hear what she said in the video below.
She said:
“He has an uncontrollable narcissism and rage about him when he feels insulted, and it’s appealing to the base, [who] say, ‘We love it. He’s a counterpuncher.’ But you’ve now lost a general election. You’ve presided over the loss of the Republican Senate, the Republican House. Abortion has been on the ballot seven times."
“Democrats have swept it in all of that, and he has not moderated at all. And frankly, I don’t think it’s in him for him to be able to do it for more than 20 minutes."
“We talk in the millions of votes when we’re talking about the general election. But it actually comes down to the tens of thousands. Right, the margins in Georgia and Arizona, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania; it’s minute."
"It can be the difference between whether you came out and you criticize your opponent’s dress, which some could interpret as demeaning a woman — again, which is obviously something that he suffers from — or just making a little offhanded comment that someone says, ‘You know what, I’m going to sit home’ or ‘actually, I want four more years of Joe Biden.’”
Many concurred with Tarlov's assessment.
Others criticized Trump more directly.
Trump's win in New Hampshire brings him closer to a potential rematch with President Biden in November.
Despite his dominant performance, Haley, his lone remaining competitor, pledged to continue her campaign, saying the race "is far from over."
Haley had banked on the support of the state's substantial independent voter base to propel her to an upset victory, aiming to loosen Trump's firm hold on the Republican Party. In the end, Trump defeated Haley by a margin of 54%-43%, which was a slimmer margin than pre-election polls had predicted.
However, Trump's dual wins in both Iowa and New Hampshire make him the first Republican since 1976 to sweep competitive votes in these early nominating contests.
The outcome is likely to intensify calls from some Republicans for Haley to exit the race, allowing the party to unite behind Trump. Her campaign affirmed its commitment to persist until Super Tuesday on March 5, when Republicans in 15 states and one territory cast their votes.
